Cyclone Alfred to keep Anthony Albanese out of WA in final days of State election campaign
Cyclone Alfred’s imminent landfall in Brisbane and northern NSW has forced the Prime Minister to change plans to head to WA on the eve of the State’s election.
Anthony Albanese was expected to head west for Friday and Saturday’s polling day but has flagged that he is now likely to stay on the east coast to keep watch on the cyclone and its aftermath.
He met Queensland Premier David Crisafulli and NSW leader Chris Minns on Tuesday night and visited the emergency management centre in Brisbane on Wednesday morning.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“I wanted to attend to make sure that I was comfortable that all of the Commonwealth support was in place,” Mr Albanese said, adding that he was likely to head to northern NSW later in the day.
“I was due to travel to Western Australia on Friday and Saturday but chances are I intend to stay on the east coast.
“NEMA (the National Emergency Management Agency) is based in Canberra, that is a good place to monitor what is happening nationally.”
Mr Albanese visited WA twice in January but has not been in the State since the formal election campaign kicked off in early February.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has also not appeared in WA to help Libby Mettam’s campaign.
Neither leader attended their party’s campaign launches despite speaking at similar events during other State elections.
Mr Dutton’s farm on the outskirts of Brisbane is in the likely in the path of cyclone Alfred.
Speculation has been mounting that Mr Albanese would call the Federal election this weekend on the back of an almost-certain Labor victory in WA, sending voters to the ballot boxes on April 12.
However, the cyclone may disrupt those plans.
Mr Dutton admitted that he would be incredibly surprised if it happened this weekend.
“I’ll be the last to be told when the election is to be held,” he told Brisbane radio.
“There will be people waiting for waters to reside, there will be swift water rescues, there will be people cleaning out their houses or their businesses, and some people will have lost everything.
“That’s the reality of these weather events and to go to election at that stage, at that time, I think the Prime Minister would have a tin ear to do that.”
